Save Me Not
by Pooja.Hariharan
Summary: It has been 24 years since the great war, and things are finally normal for Harry,Ron and Hermione. But the same cannot be said for their children. Rose Weasley, a Hufflepuff 5th year student, is at her breaking point. Dimitri Rudofsky, a Ravenclaw 5th year student, wants to save her. Will she let him? Will they get their Happily Ever After?
1. Chapter 1

**24 YEARS AFTER THE GREAT WAR**

 **CHAPTER-1**

" **Hey Lil…** Will you pass me that jug of milk,please?"

"OH. MY GOD! He's staring at you! _AGAIN!_ " my cousin squealed, paying me no attention.

"Who,Lily?" I sighed, knowing that she would have her way regardless.

"Dimitri! He's been staring at you for the past 5 minutes!"she exclaimed in glee.

"Rose!" she exclaimed when I didn't acknowledge her and instead, helped myself to the jug of milk.

"What?" I snapped, irritated.

"You're not listening to me."

"Yes,I am,Lily. I distinctly heard you say that Dimitri was staring at me."

"Then how are you so calm?"

"Well, how am I supposed to react?" I demanded, and she gaped.

"Well-I-you should-uh-"she stammered.

"Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you, but I'm not in the best of moods today, okay?" I said, gentler.

"You're never in the mood these days." She grumbled.

"I know. It's just…I have some stuff going on in my life that I'm finding hard to deal with." I vaguely explained.

"But what do we do now?" she pressed.

"About what?"

"Dimitri's staring. He's been at it since last week."

Wrong, I thought. Not a week. 5 days. Ever since _that day._ Ever since he found me doing _that._ From then, his gaze had followed me like a lost puppy. Wherever I went, I could _feel_ his gaze on me,like it was a physical touch. A burning hot touch. It didn't help that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had nearly all the classes together, either. He and I always seemed to be in the same room together.

Avoiding him was fruitless. Trust me, I'd tried. Id even gone so far as to duck into the girls' loo, but when I came out after what was an acceptable amount of time, he'd be lounging outside, casually talking to his friend. Seriously. The man stuck to me as if he was super-glued, and I didn't even know why.

"Rose!" Lily snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I dismissed my thoughts.

"Yes, I'm listening, You were asking what we should do about all the staring, right?" I asked, and she nodded vigorously.

"I say we do nothing. He'll grow tired of it gradually." I told her, and she slumped in disappointment.

"But Roooosseeee!" she whined, and I shut her up with a look.

"No 'but's, Lil. He's staring; he's got an eye problem. We can do nothing about it." She opened her mouth once again to argue, but I was saved by an arm around my shoulder and a familiar voice near my ear.

"Hey! What's going on here?" James asked as he plopped unceremoniously next to me.

"Nothing much. Lily, here, is late for Care Of Magical Creatures." I said with a meaningful look at her, and she nodded slightly, understanding that I wanted the matter kept quiet. However, she also gave me a 'This-isn't-over' look before smacking her head and jumping up.

"Oh no! I completely lost track of time! Sorry James! Got to run!" she ranted, gave me a quick kiss on my cheek, ruffled James' forever-messy hair, and dashed off.

"She'll never change." James laughed, staring at her, and I agreed. Lily was always, _always,_ late for her lessons.

"So what's up with you? I never see you these days." I asked him. He was always busy with Quidditch or the string of girls falling at his feet. Add that to the fact that we were from different Houses, and I rarely saw him. Or Albus, or Hugo, or Lily. It seemed these days that I was always alone.

All alone with myself, which was more dangerous than anyone realized.

But of course, I didn't voice these thoughts in front of them, ever, I didn't beg for them not to leave me, like I did in my head.

"Oh nothing much. Quidditch, girls, homework. You know, the usual." He answered breezily.

"And you? What do you do these days?"he asked, and I couldn't help but think that it felt like long-lost friends catching up, and not like cousins who went to the same school.

But that's how it had been, right from the start.

At first, everything had been ok, if not fine. I had my parents and family with me. But as years passed, we started growing apart, especially since I joined Hogwarts. Now I rarely saw my family. Even my own brother, I talk to once a week ,if lucky. That wasn't enough for me .I wanted to be close to someone. Close like Lily and Hugo were. Like James and Albus were. Me? I had no one.

I must've dwelled on my thoughts for far too long, because James touched me on the shoulder once to rouse me.

"Rose? Are you okay?" he asked, brown eyes full of worry.

My firs thought was that maybe the spell had worn off. I looked down at my hands and was relieved o see that they had stayed smooth.

"What? I'm fine. Why would you ask that?"

"It's just…you turned pale for a second there. As if you were about to throw up." He said. I internally examined myself, and realized that he was right. My body was getting ready to empty its stomach.

"No I'm fine. It must've been the lighting that made me look pale." I convinced him, while internally commanding my body to hold on for a little while longer.

Just then, mercifully, the bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast and the beginning if he first hour.

"James, I have to go. I'm going to be late." I lied, even though I had a free hour then.

" care." He said, and I nodded, dashing off on the direction of what he thought was my first class, but changing directions once I was out of his sight.

I confirmed that the loo was empty, went to the wash basin, and proceeded my daily routine; expelling the contents of my stomach.

Once it was all out, I looked up at the adjoining mirror, and was panicked to see that the spell had collapsed. Quickly, I recast it, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Still, as I trudged slowly back to the common room, the image of my horrible reflection; my true reflection staring back at me from the mirror stuck in my head…


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter-2_**

The staring continued.

As you can guess, it was damn annoying and unnerving. Finally, having had enough of it, I decided to do something about it. Confront him. I got the chance the very next day after I made the decision, at my DADA class. As usual, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had class together.

"For this lesson, you need to pair up. Girls versus boys. Let's see who wins. Pick your partners." Professor Smith said cheerfully. She always did love pairing people up and holding contests.

Quickly, I scanned the room until I found him talking to his friend, at the back. I moved past everyone until I was right in front of him.

"Dimitri." I called, praying for my voice not to shake. His eyes registered surprise as he turned to look at me, and then fell cautious. His face betrayed nothing.

"Will you be my partner?" I asked, and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded.

"Today, we are practicing the shield spell. Anyone know what that is?" Professor Smith asked as we faced each other and I tried my level best not to look into his eyes.

There were a few murmurs, but no definitive answers, so I raised my hand, wanting to distract myself from the stare that was burning a hole on the side of my face.

"Yes, Ms. Weasley?" Professor Smith called.

"Shield charms are used to stop two wizards from going at each other. They create a barrier to block physical objects and spells, to protect the wizard who cast it, or to protect people who the wizard wants to protect." I answered quietly, without looking at anybody.

"Very good, Ms. Weasley! Do you know the spell?"

"Yes, Professor Smith. There are many versions of the spell, but the most common of them all is just ' _Protego'."_

 _"_ Correct. As Ms. Weasley pointed out, there are many incarnations of the spell, some of which are _Protego Duo, Protego Totalum and Protego Horribilis._ But today, you will only be practicing the simplest incarnation, which is just _Protego._ " She elaborated.

"Alright, is everyone paired up? Ok. Attackers, you may only use _Stupefy_. Defenders, be quick on your feet. Let's begin!" she clapped her hands enthusiastically.

"Are you going to avoid looking at me for the whole two hours?" a thick Russian voice came and, I had to stifle a gasp. That was only the second time I'd heard that voice. I'd forgotten how smooth it could be; how silky, and yet rough. The same voice that had asked me if I was okay that day. The same voice which then had been filled with concern, now filled with amusement. I sighed in resignation, and looked up. A mistake. I was instantly drawn into his eyes, twin oceans of endless blue. As I watched, his eyes visibly darkened a little.

"Shall we start?" he asked, and I nodded, unable to say anything coherent.

"I'll attack first." He said, and before I could react, I was frozen immobile. A second later, he withdrew the spell.

This happened three more times until I finally decided enough was enough. I took a deep breath, concentrated with all my might, and just as he raised his wand, I shouted out.

" _STUPEFY!"_

 _"PROTEGO!"_

And miraculously, his spell bounced off me, casting a mild blue light. Immediately, I shouted out the Stunning Spell, too, but he was able to deflect it with just a swish of his wand and a muttered word.

 _This_ happened twice more until I sighed in defeat. He was from Ravenclaw. I should've known that he would beat me without blinking an eyelid.

"Bravo! Bravo! Look at that, everyone!" Professor Smith called out gleefully, and I realized that we were the only ones who had progressed to actually blocking each other. Others were ducking out of the way or swishing their wand in hopes of blocking the spell.

"Ms. Weasley , Mr. Rudofsky. Well done! 10 points to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw!" she congratulated us, and I smiled at her feebly. Dimitri remained stoically silent. I knew that I had just passed up a good chance to confront him, for she was sure to ask us to change partners now.

"Professor Smith." Dimitri called suddenly.

"Yes, Mr. Rudofsky?"

"Do you think we can attack with tougher spells?" he asked, and I tensed. Tougher spells? What did he mean?

"Sure, sure. Just be careful not to use ones that are seriously damaging, Mr. Rudofsky." She said happily, and I was on high alert. Something bad was going to happen.

We turned to face each other again.

"Well, aren't you going to do it?" he asked as we circled each other.

"Do what?" I asked in surprise.

"Confront me. Isn't that what you partnered with me for?" he asked with a sly smile on his lips, and I was taken aback.

"How do you-"

"-know? Well, the staring had to get to you someday." He smiled a real smile, and I was surprised by the effect it had on his normally scary face. Beautiful, I could only think. Then his words registered.

"You tyke! You wanted me to confront you, didn't you?" I demanded, growing angry.

"Why?"I asked.

He took that opportunity to throw a hex at me. And so help me, he chose the Bat-bogey hex. But I wasn't that distracted, and managed to block him. The spell bounced off of me harmlessly.

"Why?"I asked again, and his mouth tightened.

"Because I wanted to know the truth." He answered, and I froze.

"What truth?" I asked, my voice a whisper.

"The truth about what happened that day."

"Well, I'm not telling you." I said firmly, gaining back my voice, and I decided that he had talked enough.

" _ABLATTERO!"_ I shouted, and he deflected it again, his time with visible effort. Good. I was getting better.

"Then I guess I'll just have to find out. I'm sorry for this." He said grimly, and I was thrown off track for a moment. He was apologizing? For a spell? How bad could it be?

I found out the answer to my question as he cast his spell.

" _LEGILIMENS!"…_


	3. Chapter 3

**_CHAPTER-3_**

Every memory; every joy; every sorrow; every secret; every smile; every tear…it was all his.

It was as though someone had made a movie of my life, and I was watching it. Except I knew that it wasn't I who was watching it, but he.

I could feel his presence in my head-it was light as a feather, but it was there. I could feel him searching, sifting through my memories, trying to find the one he wanted.

' _STOP!'_ I wanted to scream, but I had no voice. I could only watch helplessly as he went through my head.

And finally, he found what he was looking for.

 _MEMORY:_

 _Out…Out…it all had to come out._

 _I shoved my fingers down my throat and gagged, wanting to pour it all out. Soon, the familiar pangs seized my abdomen, and my stomach emptied itself. I watched with a kind of sick satisfaction as my breakfast went down the drain. The white colored semi solid substance going out of my body was as familiar as it was disgusting._

 _Milk._

 _Milk was the reason it was so much easier to pour it out. It turned out that milk was a wonderful lubricant. I discovered it only later on, though. For the first few weeks, I had walked around with a sore throat, the result of vomiting up so much so frequently. It was almost a month later that I discovered that drinking milk along with my meal made it easier on my throat._

 _Even after it was all out, my body kept dry heaving uselessly, as the voices-_

 _END OF MEMORY_

"NO!" This time I did scream out loud, and in a desperate attempt to keep him out of my mind, cast the Shield charm.

There was glorious calm in my head, and I knew that I had expelled him. For a split second, I had my vision and senses back, before my Shield charm, still within the clutches of his Legilimency, did the unthinkable: cast me into his mind.

His mind was not what I expected it to be. To be honest, I didn't know what I had expected, but it was definitely not this. This minefield of laughter and happy memories. Everywhere I looked, there was color, there was brilliance, there was beauty.

One particular memory stuck out, vivid and colorful.

There were two boys, the older one chasing the younger. One couldn't have been more than 6 or 7,and the older one had to be around 11.

" _Come on, Dimitri! You're so slow! Catch me!"_ the younger one laughed, and an answering laugh came from the older one. With a jolt, I realized that Dimitri was laughing; something that had never happened in the last two years he'd been at Hogwarts.

" _Me? You're the slowpoke, David! Get back here!"_ I heard Dimitri tease. I saw him get closer to the little boy, and deliberately slow his pace so as to not catch up with him.

The scene brought tears to my eyes. It was obvious that Dimitri had loved that little boy; that it had been a cherished memory, or it wouldn't have stood out like that. That carefree laugh, that easy smile…where had that Dimitri gone?

Then suddenly, I was back in the DADA class, facing real life, 15 year old Dimitri, who was pale, shaking, and livid. His eyes were narrowed into slits, and his breathing was rough.

"Is everything alright, Ms. Weasley?"A familiar voice pulled me out of my reverie, and I looked up to see Professor Smith extending a hand. It was then that I realized that I was on the ground.

I looked around and saw that my classmates were still practicing the Shield Charm. No one had noticed the enormity of what had happened between us.

"Fine. I'm fine." I said, taking the professor's hand and staggering to my feet.

"Are you sure? I heard you scream." She asked me worriedly, and I looked up at Dimitri to see that his eyes were closed now, and he had gotten his breathing under control.

"I'm sure, Professor Smith. I'm fine. Just slipped and fell." I lied, and she believed me.

"Well, maybe it's time you changed partners. Mr. Marcus! Come over here. You're partnered with Ms. Weasley." She said, casting a cautious glance at Dimitri.

"Mr. Rudofsky? What about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just…I need to use the restroom." He muttered. The professor gave him permission, and he left, leaving me staring at his back in confusion…

He didn't show up for the rest of the day. I know because I looked.

I know I should be angry, seeing that he invaded my mind and all, but I couldn't help but feel for him. Feel for those little boys in the field.

What had happened to _that_ Dimitri? The one who knew to laugh and smile? The one who knew to be carefree? More importantly, who was that little boy and where was he now? What did he mean to Dimitri? A brother? A cousin? A friend?

Well, I wasn't going to find out anytime soon. Trying to talk to Dimitri was like talking to a brick wall. Trying to reason with him was like awakening a dragon. And you know the school's motto: _Never tickle a sleeping dragon._

I was lost in my thoughts for the rest of dinner, and I didn't even notice what I ate or who sat next to me. When the all-too-familiar pangs seized my stomach, though, I knew exactly what to do. Excusing myself hurriedly, I walked to the loo as quickly as my legs could carry me.

I reached the loo, breathed a sigh of relief, and proceeded to do what was second nature to me.

I was so busy in the act that I didn't hear the footsteps coming closer till it was too late…


End file.
